Blondes Have More Fun
by SaltyJak
Summary: Despite her best efforts, the girl knew she would always come up short if compared with Trixie, the girl had her beat in a competition that she wasn't even participating in. With a sigh, Veronica prepared herself for another lonely Valentine's Day...
1. Blonde Moment

A/N: Time to break from the norm a bit. AnonymouslyKnown mentioned that they liked Timmy/Vicky, as well as Timmy/Veronica, so I figured I'd do a little oneshot, hopefully it's actually good.

The blonde girl awoke to the sound of her alarm clock blaring the latest Chip Skylark song. She contemplated hitting the snooze button, then realized that she didn't really want to put herself through that repetitious hell this morning and instead shut it off.

Sitting up in bed and stretching, she felt the bones in her neck crack. Even the luxury bed she owned couldn't give her a perfect night's sleep. Throwing the covers off herself and hopping out of bed, the girl moved to her dresser and took out her usual outfit: a white turtleneck sweater and a pink skirt, then grabbed some black leggings as well. She was still a bit too tired to care about her clothes not matching, and she really didn't care anyway. It was cold out, keeping warm came first, then fashion.

Heading into her personal bathroom, she turned on the shower and stripped off her pink night shirt and matching pajama bottoms as she stepped in and sighed as the warm water relaxed away the tension in her muscles.

Well, tension might be a bit dramatic... But keeping up the act that she should've by now been accustomed to was still a pain. She washed her blonde hair thoroughly and sighed as she shut off the hot water. Unproductive as it may be, she would've preferred to stay in the shower for far longer, but she had to get ready for school. Her... 'friend' would be expecting her.

The girl walked in front of the mirror and wiped away the condensation. A blue-eyed reflection stared back at her, blonde hair still dripping wet. She had not yet bothered to dry herself off, and currently stood in front of the mirror stark naked, looking for any physical imperfection she could find. Something she could use to mentally compare herself to the raven-haired girl that was her friend.

...But what was there? She strove to be as similar to the girl as possible, all in an effort to-

It didn't matter. She had long ago thrown out the black wig that replicated Trixie's hairstyle. It couldn't be the hair... and it couldn't be the eyes... Blue eyes weren't ugly, right? Plenty of people had blue eyes... _He_ had blue eyes...

She sighed as she looked herself over. Trixie had her beat in another department, one she wasn't willing to alter: breast size. Not by much, but her friend definitely had bigger breasts than her, if only slightly. Everything else about them was the same. Except... no, it wasn't. The girl hung her head in defeat. She had freckles. A trait that Tang didn't. Not a huge amount, just a light dusting here and there, the most prominent of which accumulated on her cheeks. _That_ couldn't be why _he _liked _her_ more, could it?

"Veronica! You're going to be late for school!"

A groan escaped Veronica Star's lips as her mother called to her. "I'll be down in a few!" She dried herself off and got dressed, then brushed her teeth. With all of that done, there was only one more morning ritual to take care of... "Hi! I'm- Enh... no..." Clearing her throat and looking at the mirror, she began again. "Hi! I'm Vero- Ugh! No!" She once again cleared her throat, in addition to taking a few deep breaths. "Hi! I'm Veronica Star! It's like, great to meet you!" She grimaced at her fake valley girl accent, feeling her brain cells beginning to diminish as she did. "Like, what a great day..." Veronica stepped out of her bathroom and grabbed her backpack. As she was about to leave her room, she passed by her calender and looked at it. "February... Fourteenth?!" she was tempted to feign illness then and there, but realized she had already called down to her mother, there was no getting out of it now...

Putting up a happy facade so her parents didn't ask her why she looked so depressed, Veronica made her way downstairs and out the door to her mother's car. She got in and looked at her mother, who offered a happy smile and started the car. This was something she was still getting used to. A rather lucrative position had opened up at her father's work, and he had asked that Veronica's mother quit her job to spend more time with their only daughter.

She knew that her mother had been hesitant at first, but she eventually relented and became more stay at home. It made Veronica happy that her mother could spend more time with her, and they were definitely bonding and feeling more like a family as of late, but there were certain things that she wasn't yet comfortable talking with her mother about. Her friendship with Trixie was one of them, mostly because Trixie was her main competition to win a certain brunet's heart. A competition that Veronica was most certainly losing, despite the fact that Trixie wasn't even competing to begin with. _"I'm so pathetic..."_

"You know what today is, right?"

Veronica sighed and butted her head against the passenger side window. "Singles' Awareness Day..."

"Huh? No... it's Valentine's Day!"

"That's what I said, Mom. It's Valentine's Day if you _have_ a Valentine, which I don't. So for me, it's Singles' Awareness Day."

"Oh it's not _that_ bad... What about Tad?"

"Tad's gay." Veronica deadpanned without averting her gaze from the window.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"...Well... what about Chad?"

"How do you think I know that Tad is gay?"

"Oh. _Oh_... I see. There's-"

"Remy's an arrogant prick whose head is so far up his own ass that-"

"Veronica!"

"...Sorry."

"Is something the matter? You're not usually like this..."

"I don't want to get into it right now." She wasn't sure when she had dropped her valley girl facade, but she'd have to find it again soon if today was going to be a normal day for her...

"Hm... Is it about a boy?"

"It- I'll tell you about it when I get home today."

"Alright honey, I'm gonna hold you to that."

The car pulled up in front of the Dimmsdale High School. "Thanks for the ride Mom."

"Of course, try to cheer up, for me?"

Veronica smiled slightly at her mother as she got out of the car. "I'll try." She watched her mother drive off, then went up the front steps of the school. Opening the double doors revealed the interior of the school to be in exactly the state she expected it to be in: Heart shaped pink and red balloons were everywhere, people ran back and forth exchanging gifts, a few of the bolder students were making out behind the doors of their lockers, and the air itself felt thick with romance and an oddly sweet scent.

Veronica found herself contemplating darting out the way she came and skipping school entirely, but before she could-

"Veronica!" Trixie called her over.

The blonde girl put up a fake smile as she turned and walked over to her 'best friend'. Back in the first grade, in an effort to make friends and not end up alone like Timmy, Veronica had done her best to mingle with the popular kids, going so far as to emulate Trixie, the most popular girl in school. She strove to dress as similarly to her as possible without going as far as Tad and Chad did, and even adopted a fake accent to blend in better, all it had cost her was any sense of identity that she once may have had.

Shortly after they started high school, the rumor mill had been fired up about them, that they were an 'item', or 'joined at the hip'. Being popular meant that she could ignore these rumors, for the most part, but it still bothered her that they existed at all. It wasn't like she was _that_ close to Trixie...

Veronica mentally gagged at the thought. Even if she was... like that... Trixie was like a leech, using the best model of guy until she bled whatever she wanted out of him, then moving on to the next gullible idiot. Who could date someone like that? Part of her hated herself for _being friends_ with someone like that.

Yet by some miracle, Timmy had yet to win the black-haired girl's affections, so he was spared from knowing how she really was. Part of Veronica was glad for this; glad that Timmy hadn't gotten his heart broken like so many before him, yet part of her also wished he had, at least then he'd finally move on and actually notice her!

"Veronica? Everything okay?" Trixie waved her hand in font of her blonde-haired companion's face.

"Hm? Yeah, just like, thinking about stuff." she waved the girl off, acting like nothing was the matter. "So, how many Valentines have you gotten so far?"

"Three hundred, seventy-two."

"You've been here for like, five minutes!"

"I know! It's pretty funny!"

"So... you plan on actually _being_ anyone's Valentine, or...?"

"We'll see. The day is still young, and there are just so many to choose from... Maybe Tommy's friend, AJ? He's been really trying lately."

"Who's Tommy?"

"Y'know... the guy who's always trying to get me to go out with him... Um... Pink hat?"

"Timmy."

"Right! Tammy!"

Veronica facepalmed. It was like Trixie had a mental block when it came to remembering Timmy's name. "Sure, whatever. So you're thinking about AJ then?"

"Well, maybe. He's smart, I'll give him that, but from what I've heard, he's about as romantic as a toaster."

"Like you give a damn about romance..." Veronica mumbled under her breath.

"What's that?"

"Nothing important." she had to be more careful with what she said around this girl, all she had to do was let one little comment slip about how she really felt, and she could kiss popularity and her sort-of friendship with the popular kids goodbye.

The bell indicating the official beginning of the school day rang, and Veronica bid goodbye to Trixie as she made her way to homeroom.

A homeroom that, as fate would have it, she shared with the object of her silent affections. Timmy Turner. With no small amount of effort, Veronica had been able to tone down her more obsessive tendencies, especially after finding out that Tootie's attempts were met with restraining orders and fear, this was the main reason that she had thrown out the black wig, and no longer spied on him like before. She still liked him, of course, but a more subtle approach was in order.

Unfortunately for her, a subtle approach amounted to her not really attempting anything at all, so her affections continued to go unnoticed. She watched as the girl who was once labeled as her competition sat next to Timmy.

He and Tootie had seemingly grown quite close, and for a while, Veronica thought she had missed her chance and that the two had finally hooked up, but some careful eavesdropping on her part brought the news that the two were simply very close friends. A fact that brought immense relief to the blonde.

But there was still the fact that Timmy didn't even know she existed... As far as he was concerned, she was just Trixie's lieutenant, not worthy of note or acknowledgment.

The bell to signify the end of homeroom rang, shaking Veronica from her thoughts, and causing her to notice a heart-shaped Valentine card on her desk. She looked at it, then up at Timmy's retreating form. It didn't take her long to realize that Timmy was too scared to even give Trixie the card in person; he'd have a courier do it instead. This thought brought mixed feelings to the surface for Veronica. Anger at being essentially used so that Timmy could again try to woo a girl that would only use him, and sadness that she was once again being overlooked in favor of her 'friend'.

She stood up from her desk, grabbing her backpack and the card. "Fine. She can have him!" She was officially done. Done chasing Timmy, done competing for Timmy's affections with Trixie and Tootie, done wasting her time on a boy that was clearly never going to feel the way about her that she felt about him. Done.

_Some time later..._

"Here." Veronica sat down next to Trixie at lunch. In her hand was the Valentine card from earlier. "Guess Timmy's too much of a coward to give you this himself..."

"Hm?" Trixie didn't speak, as she was currently chewing her food. "Mm... Hm?" she took the card from her friend and opened it, then studied it for a few seconds before swallowing. "Heehee! This isn't for me!" the card was handed back to a very confused looking Veronica. "You even read it?"

"Well... no... I just assumed..."

"Why give it to me? Have a blonde moment or something?" Trixie looked over at Timmy, who averted his eyes upon realizing exactly _why _Trixie was looking at him._ "_Looks like someone's got a not-so-secret admirer...!"

Veronica opened the card.

_To Veronica,_

_Wanna be my Valentine?_

_-Timmy_

"I'm kinda surprised really. I thought for sure that it was another attempt by Tommy-"

"Timmy!" Veronica snapped at Trixie.

"Whatever. I thought it was for me, like usual, but I guess he sees something in you, huh?"

Remembering who exactly it was that she was talking to, Veronica suppressed the urge to squee and waved her hand dismissively. "Great, now _I_ have to deal with him crushing on _me_?"

"Just turn him down like I always do, he's right over there." Trixie pointed at the table where Timmy sat, along with Chester, AJ, and Tootie.

"I can't do that in the middle of lunch..."

"Why not?"

"_Because I'm not an unbelievable bit-" _"It'll be more fun to watch him squirm?"

"Ooh! Good point! Maybe you can work this in your favor like I did back in middle school!"

"We'll see." Veronica smiled reassuringly at Trixie.

Veronica didn't share any classes with Timmy after lunch, so confronting him about the card(something she felt she didn't have the confidence to do anyway) was off the table. For everyone else, oblivious to the card she received, the day proceeded quite smoothly and without incident. For Veronica however...

"_Ugh! Why can't this day just end?!"_ Looking at the card again did nothing to quell the erratic beating of her heart, in fact, it may have just been making it worse! She didn't have any particular plan beyond going to his house and knocking on the door... _"Oh... Who am I kidding?! Just showing up unannounced? Might as well just confess how my love for him burns with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns!"_ She glanced around the classroom, hoping that that confession had stayed in her head, and the lack of quizzical stares in her direction confirmed this to be the case.

After laying her head down on her desk, she took a few deep breaths and found her resolve. _"No, for better or worse... I'm gonna go over there."_

_After school..._

Veronica walked down the front steps of Dimmsdale High School and over to her mother's car. "How was school?"

Veronica looked at her mother as she got into the car. "I... It was fine. Um... could we make a quick stop before we head home?"

"Sure, where to?"

"Just need to stop by a friend's house to check something about the homework."

After telling her mother where Timmy lived, Veronica felt herself beginning to get cold feet again. What if this was too much? Going to see him right after school... Maybe the card was just... a friendly gesture...? Maybe... Maybe he pitied her. Sure, she hadn't had any boyfriends, but that was because she liked Timmy... He wouldn't... _pity_ her, would he?

"Honey? Is everything all right?"

"Hm? Yeah, everything's fine!" Veronica shot her mother another reassuring smile.

"Well... we're here." her mother nodded toward the house that the car sat in front of. Timmy's house.

"Oh! I'll um... I'll be right out. Just need to- homework..." Veronica trailed off as she got out of the car and approached the house's front door.

She once again found herself considering running back to her mother's car and just telling her to drive them both home, but before she could listen to the voice of reason in her head, a knock on the door in front of her shook the idea from her mind. Veronica gasped as she realized it was her hand knocking on the door. Now there really _was_ no turning back.

"You two stop fighting!" Veronica heard Timmy yell from inside the house. "Coming!"

Maybe... she could use this to her advantage and say that she'd come back later-

The door opened and a green cat went racing out between her legs, followed by a pink one, which in turn was followed by a smaller purple one. "Ah... sorry. My cats don't get along so- Veronica?"

Veronica looked away from the catfight and instead at Timmy. "Um... Hey... I got your Valentine..." she blushed and looked at her shoes, finding the thought of meeting his gaze to be immensely terrifying.

"Well... I left it on your desk..." Timmy nervously ran his hand through his hair.

"I thought... you meant it to be for Trixie, and just wanted me to be your delivery girl..."

"Huh? Why would you think that?"

"Maybe all the times that you tried to get Trixie to go out with you?"

"Oh... Yeah..."

A light breeze blew over the two teens.

"I figured you'd just turn me down outright if I approached you, that's why I left after I gave it to you. Guess... I didn't want a rehash of events like with Trixie. I suppose... I could've gone about it better..."

"Yeah, you could've." she at last looked at Timmy, hoping that her gaze would let him know how angry she was with him for playing with her heart(even if he really didn't), but her resolve crumbled almost immediately as her eyes met his.

"Sorry."

"...Why do you even like me? What about Trixie?"

"Trixie clearly doesn't like me... Besides, AJ asked her out earlier today. I can't keep after her now, wouldn't be a very good friend if I did. As for why I like you... I mean..." Timmy blushed and scratched at his nose. "You're... pretty... and stuff..." Timmy's voice descended in volume until it was barely a whisper.

"...And?"

"Well, um..." Timmy sighed and his shoulders slumped a bit. "I don't really know much about you-"

"So what am I to you? Second prize?! Gave up on Trixie, so now you're gonna try your luck with me?!" she hadn't intended to come here and raise her voice, but here she was, yelling at the boy she had a crush on. Her mother was going to expect _quite_ an explanation after this...

"It isn't like that! I know how it seems, it's just... Ugh... look, what I'm about to tell you, don't tell any of my friends, and _please_ don't tell Tootie?"

"I'll consider it."

"You, like just about everyone that knows about my existence, know that Tootie had a... somewhat obsessive crush on me for a while, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well... she likes to meddle... a bit. She's been telling me for years that Trixie was bad news, and I never listened to her, like an idiot. I recently found out..."

"How Trixie really is?" Veronica asked, though she masked the hopefulness with a more indifferent tone.

"I guess so... Heh... AJ's dead-set on asking her out, there's little I can say to convince him otherwise... But it wasn't just Tootie telling me. I'm a slow learner, but I'm not an idiot, the patterns are there for those who notice them. Tootie also mentioned that you like me, she- acting like my overprotective sister, told me to stay away from you too, but listening to her... Well, I'm not a very good listener..."

"So... you like me?"

"I... don't know, if I'm being honest. But I know you like me, so... Knowing that, would you maybe... wanna give 'us' a shot?"

Veronica contemplated the offer. Would she seem weak if she accepted? Actually, nevermind if she seemed weak, this was her chance, shouldn't she at least give it a shot? Straightening her posture, Veronica stepped forward and planted an almost imperceptibly light kiss on Timmy's cheek. "I'll... see you tomorrow?"

The grin on Timmy's face made her heart erupt with a feeling akin to fireworks going off.

"I'll take that as a yes!" she giggled as she stepped off the porch and ran back to her mother's car. Looking back revealed that Timmy was still standing in his doorway, the goofy grin showing no signs of dissipating.

"So what was that about?" her mother gave her a knowing look.

"I'll tell you when we get home..." Veronica smiled and waved at Timmy as the car pulled away.


	2. Interesting Development

A/N: I _was_ gonna put this as a separate story on here, but I think it goes pretty well with Blonde Moment, so I'll just add it as a chapter to that story.

* * *

_February 15th..._

Veronica glanced to her left at her... _"Friend?"_ She wasn't entirely sure if Trixie still qualified as such in her book, considering how she acted... She wasn't even sure if they had ever_ really_ been friends to begin with. Veronica had latched onto the girl so that she could be popular, and to have friends of her own. A well-hidden fear of hers was being alone, not to say alone by oneself in a room, but to not have friends, people she could count on while she was at school, or in a difficult situation. She wasn't sure if it was a phobia or not, but it _did_ bother her, which is exactly why she had latched on to the self-proclaimed princess of their high school. Back in elementary school, she lacked the foresight to know what befriending Trixie would cost her, but now... Now she knew what the girl was really like. She knew she had to distance herself from the girl if she ever hoped to have a normal relationship with Timmy. Once she had decided on that, she felt she was ready. Today was the day that she'd prove she wasn't like the raven-haired girl; that she was a genuinely good person. Now...

Now she was doing her best to... Pretend everything was fine. Though she'd prefer not to admit it to anyone(and so she didn't), Veronica lacked the courage to stop being Trixie's friend. She sighed wearily as yet another boy delivered a gift to their lunch table. Trixie looked it over, seeming to consider the worthiness of this boy's gift, before tossing it onto a pile in the middle of the table, then nodding her head. The head nod was Trixie's signal for the popular kids' bodyguard to toss the boy away, like he had done to every boy that came to their table in an attempt to court her.

Trixie still received gifts from various suitors at all hours of the day, though lunch was when she received the largest influx. In fact, there were even some _girls_ that tried to woo her, now that they were in high school. Though this was likely because no one knew which team Trixie was playing for, and since she enjoyed receiving gifts, she likely wasn't going to tell anyone anytime soon.

"So how are things between you and Tommy?" Trixie looked over at Veronica after seeing that there weren't anymore gifts coming her way.

"Timmy." Veronica corrected Trixie. "And things are fine."

"Fine?"

"I mean... he's like... wrapped around my finger!" _"__Right. Remember Veronica, stay in character..."_

"So why isn't he bringing you gifts?"

"I told him he didn't have to."

"Why?"

"Why does it matter? You of all people know how these things go. I'll pretend that we've got a thing going, and drop it when he isn't useful anymore." Veronica shrugged and smiled at Trixie, hoping to drive home the point that she was just like her.

"Looks like I taught you well!"

"Heheh yeah..."_ "At least I can lie to her without feeling bad..."_ Veronica's eyes drifted away from Trixie and over to the table where Timmy sat with his friends. She would've preferred to sit at their table, even though she knew that she'd receive some odd looks from said friends, especially Tootie. If the girl didn't know about her and Timmy by now, she would soon enough. In fact, Tootie finding out about them was worrying her more than anything else at the moment.

"Hello~? Veronica?"

Trixie's voice shook the blonde from her thoughts. "Yeah?"

"I was asking you if you had any plans after school, we're going to the mall; wanna come?"

"I... was gonna see if Timmy had any plans..."

"Hm? You're really dedicated to this little act, huh?"

"I-"

"Oh! Why don't we all go together? That might be fun!"

"Um... I don't know... He might have plans to do something else..."

"Why not ask him? But... don't invite his loser friends, you know we really shouldn't associate with them."

"Well I can't just go over there and invite him to hang out with us and leave his friends out. That wouldn't be right..."

"Says who? Do you really care what his friends think?"

"Maybe... haven't you noticed how distrustful they are towards us? ...Not that their distrust is unfounded..."

"You're strange."

Veronica looked down at her hands. _"Should I... What should I do? I could invite them all to hang out with us, but... What if Trixie and the others are rude and mean to them? That won't help my case... and if I leave them out, it'll probably make them think I'm taking away their friend..."_

"Do what you want." Trixie spoke at last and shrugged. "If you want to keep up this little game... Then I guess you should invite them along too."

"But-"

"I'll hold my tongue, don't worry. But I can't guarantee the same for Tad and Chad."

"Really?"

"Sure. I know how to play along with someone's plan." Trixie winked at her. "Go on, invite them too."

"Uh... Right, thanks Trixie!"

"Mm-hm." Trixie watched Veronica stand up from their lunch table and make her way over to Timmy's lunch table with a smile. "Oh Veronica... We're more different than I thought." she made sure that Veronica couldn't hear her but...

"What?" Tad and Chad were a different story.

"Nothing, just thinking out loud."

The two identically dressed boys looked at her in confusion. "Okay... So why did you tell Veronica to invite those losers to hang out with us?"

"Because you two are boring." Trixie narrowed her eyes at the two boys. "And if you two decide to come with us, I suggest you hold your tongues, else I might have to rip them out."

The menace that the self-proclaimed princess was exhibiting did not go unnoticed by Tad, nor Chad. "O-okay... Are- are you mad at us?"

"No, I just know how you two are. Will you be joining us?"

"Er... Th-that's okay... We have to... go to dentist appointments! Yeah... Right Chad?"

"Uh... Yeah! Dentist..."

"That's unfortunate. Perhaps another time then." Trixie watched the two boys get up and leave the table, then reclined back against the wall and sighed tiredly. "You owe me one..." Trixie glanced over at Timmy's table, where Veronica now sat and was receiving some very odd stares. "This should at least be entertaining... Heehee!"

_At the less-popular kids' table..._

"Um... Hi!" Veronica said with a wave as she stopped at the table.

The conversation that Timmy and his friends were having suddenly fizzled out as four sets of eyes fell on the blonde.

"Hey!"

Timmy waved and smiled warmly at Veronica, and she nearly swooned in response. "Would it be alright if... I-"

"Sat down with us? You sure Trixie will be okay with that?"

"I-I don't need her permission to sit-"

"Messing with you." Timmy smirked.

"Oh." Veronica blushed at her almost overzealous defense of her actions.

"Anyway, sure, come sit with us." Timmy patted the seat to his right. On his left was Tootie, she seemed to be indifferent to the blonde girl's presence, but Veronica knew better than to think that. She found herself wondering exactly how much Timmy had told his friends about them.

Veronica walked over to the seat Timmy had patted and sat down. She looked around at the three people watching her, as Timmy had gone back to eating his lunch like nothing unusual was going on.

"So you stole Timmy's heart, eh?" the bald kid that Veronica thought was named 'AJ' spoke up.

"Um!" Veronica's face immediately darkened to crimson. "I just- Well I mean, we're-" she looked over at Timmy, whose face was similar to hers, and... He seemed to be struggling with something...

Tootie reached over and slapped him hard on the back, causing Timmy to cough and sputter before taking a drink from his bottle of juice. "Th-thanks Toots."

"_Toots?!" _Veronica thought. _"Why don't _I_ have a nickname?!"_

"You're welcome. Gotta remember to chew your food, Timmy."

"I was... just got caught off guard by... AJ."

"_Good, his name _is_ AJ..."_ "You okay Timmy?"

"Yeah, I'm good, thanks."

By now, Veronica knew something was up with Tootie. The girl had a bored expression on her face as she leaned on her elbow and shifted her gaze around the cafeteria. She wasn't being her normal, obsessive-over-Timmy self, she wasn't watching Timmy like a hawk, and she wasn't acting suspicious about the fact that Veronica was sitting at their table. Something was definitely up with the raven-haired girl.

"AJ, I told you, Chester, and Tootie that we're..." Timmy stopped and looked at Veronica. "What _are_ we?"

"Well... I guess-" Veronica scratched her nose and thought for a few seconds. "I guess we're testing the water?"

"Let's go with that, testing the water."

"Fair enough, just never expected you to give up on Trixie and pick her friend instead..."

"If my legs were long enough to reach you, you'd have a very sore shin right about now." Timmy threatened lightheartedly.

"So you two are-"

"So did you have a reason for coming over here and sitting with us?" Tootie interrupted Chester with her own question and all eyes fell on her.

"Oh! Um... Yes." _"Great, already off on the wrong foot with his best friend..."_ "I was wondering... If you wanted to come to the mall today? Trixie and I are going and-"

"Are you trying to separate us from Timmy?" there was a slightly defensive edge to Tootie's question.

"N-no... I... was gonna ask if you all wanted to go..."

Timmy frowned as Veronica looked down dejectedly, like they had already turned down her offer... He turned to look at Tootie and narrowed his eyes, she merely gave him an innocent look, as if she didn't understand that she was being mean. Timmy mentally sighed, Tootie probably had a problem with Veronica. _"This is gonna be fun..."_ "Sure, I've got nothing to do today. You guys wanna come?"

"I've gotta study for a test, some other time maybe?" AJ spoke up.

"I need to meet with my..."

"Dealer."

"Shh! Ya don't go around spouting off that information dude!"

"Except no one cares, Pothead. Tootie?"

"_Fuck..."_ Veronica thought to herself. _"Why does he have to invite _her_? She clearly hates me... and I haven't even done anything!"_

"Sure! Mind if I invite-"

"Let's not." Timmy cut her off, knowing _exactly_ who Tootie was going to suggest bringing.

"Ugh... Fine. I won't be intruding, right Veronica?"

"Um... No, like I said, you're all welcome to come... But..."

"Hm?" Tootie smirked at the blonde evilly, which went unnoticed by Timmy.

"It's just... Trixie's driving us up, so obviously she'll be joining us... and Tad and Chad might be there..."

"I can handle those two." Tootie remarked confidently.

"_What does she think? I'm trying to dissuade her from going?"_ "Okay... Just... be prepared to deal with them."

Tootie raised an eyebrow at the blonde girl's odd behavior. _"Why is she acting all apologetic?"_ "Great, should be fun! After school then, right?"

"Um... yeah."

The bell to signify the end of lunch rang and Chester and AJ stood up to walk away, followed shortly after by Tootie, and finally Timmy and Veronica. "Sorry about that."

"What?" Veronica looked at Timmy.

"Tootie. I figured she'd have a problem with... us."

"Oh... Don't worry about it!" Veronica waved her hand dismissively. "It's good to have friends that care about you, y'know? Trixie and I... We haven't exactly made life easy for you and your friends..."

"Grade school shenanigans, that's all."

"Heheh... Yeah... Still, I can understand why she was acting like that."

"You... know about... her crush on me?"

"Timmy. Everyone knew about her crush on you."

"I kinda figured... I'll talk to her-"

"No!" Veronica nearly shouted at him.

"Um..."

"I mean... No, that's okay. She's your best friend; she probably just thinks that me and you together will mean that you won't want to hang out with her as much... At least, I think that's what it is."

"...You think Tootie feels threatened?"

"It's... a distinct possibility. You've never had a girlfriend, right?"

"Rub some salt in the wound why dontcha?"

"I'm just saying..."

"Alright... I still think I should talk to her..." Timmy looked toward the cafeteria exit to see Tootie peeking out the doors at them. _"Great..."_

"Well... if you think you should. She's _your_ friend after all."

"I'll... just see how she feels about us. Clear the air, y'know?" Timmy moved forward to hug Veronica, but stopped as she tensed slightly. "Um... how do we do this?"

"I... don't know. Is it too early for us to hug?"

"Maybe? Definitely too early to kiss..."

"Yeah... Handshake?"

"No... That seems... too _im_personal..."

"Good point..."

"..."

"This is awkward."

"Yeah it is. Um..." Timmy reached forward and took Veronica's right hand in his, then gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze and rubbed her knuckles.

The blonde felt her cheeks heat up at this. "S-so... see you a-after school?"

"Yep. See you then."

"...Can I have my hand back now?"

"Oh! Right..." Timmy released Veronica's hand, then watched her leave. After she was gone, Timmy made his way to the doorway he had seen Tootie go through and found her leaning up against a row of lockers. "Alright, what's up?"

"Nothing's-"

"Tootie." Timmy looked at her like he was reprimanding a child.

"Hmph." Tootie pouted, crossed her arms, and looked away from Timmy.

"That's not an answer."

"...Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" Tootie still didn't meet his gaze, evidently finding some invisible thing down the hall _far_ more interesting.

"Because I didn't even know about it myself, I mean, not for sure... Why does it matter anyway?"

"She's... you remember how they used to be... Aren't you worried that this might just be a trap like what Trixie used to do?" at last Tootie looked at him, and the worry was clearly etched on her face.

"It..." Timmy looked over his shoulder. It was just the two of them in the hallway. "I suppose it could be, but I trust Veronica. She's not like Trixie..."

"You hope."

"I hope, I can admit that. Now, since I can admit that, why don't you tell me what the issue is?"

Tootie grumbled something under her breath.

"Right. Mature as always." Timmy walked over to Tootie and put his arm around her shoulders so he could lean on the lockers with her. "You're afraid things'll be different between us, right?"

"You're not smart enough to figure that out on your own..."

"I had help."

"From Blondie." Tootie glanced up at Timmy slyly.

"From _Veronica_."

"That's what I said."

"Look, nothing's gonna change, okay? You think I'd stop being friends with my_ best_ friend because I have a girlfriend?"

"..."

"I'm not gonna ask you to be her friend, it wouldn't be fair to put you on the spot like that, but can you try to be nice, please?"

Tootie made a whiny 'Mm' noise.

"For me?"

"I'll try."

"Thank you."

"But I'm not promising a damn thing! If I smell even a whiff of deception from Blondie or her bitch of a girlfriend, all bets are off!"

"Fair enough." Timmy leaned in and kissed the top of Tootie's head, causing her to blush and shove him.

"What did I say about that type of stuff?! Best friends don't kiss each other on the head like that!"

The brunet grinned at her slyly. "Get over yourself. Us having a normal friendly relationship is about as likely as Hell freezing over. Besides, _you_ were the one who said that I'm like the brother you never had-"

"Or wanted!"

"Now we both know _that_ isn't true. See you after school?"

"Gr... Yeah." Tootie spun around and headed for her next class.

Timmy watched her for a few seconds before giggling to himself and making his way to his own class. Sure, they didn't have the most conventional friendship, and at times he could admit they were downright flirty with each other, but both had agreed that dating would be weird. They were close as kin(and maybe a bit closer than that) and the two of them were happy with that arrangement.

_Outside the school, just after the last bell..._

"You sure they're gonna come?" Trixie asked Veronica as she sat on the trunk of the limousine she had called to pick them up. She was kicking her feet in the air rather excitedly.

"I hope they do... I mean, they said they would... What about Tad and Chad? Are they coming?"

"Nah." Trixie waved her hand dismissively. "They told me they both have dentist appointments or something."

"_Those twos' insistence on doing everything together is starting to creep me out..."_ Veronica thought to herself as she watched the front doors of Dimmsdale High.

"Well... Since they're not here yet-" Trixie hopped off the trunk of the limo and skipped over to Veronica's side, then put her arm around her shoulders. "Got something I wanna ask you."

The blonde glanced at her friend's hand on her shoulder and fought off the urge to shrug out of her grasp. "Yeah?"

"Where'd your valley-girl accent go?"

"_Fuck me..."_ "I um... Like, what are you talking about?" she could feel a nervous sweat breaking out across her skin.

"So it's an act." Trixie turned to face her, dragging her fingers over Veronica's right shoulder, across the back of her neck, and letting them come to rest on the blonde girl's left shoulder. "Right?"

"An a-act? What um... What do you mean?" Veronica gulped nervously.

"I mean it's pretty obvious that the valley girl accent and saying 'like' every other word is an act you've been putting up for years now, right? Until I brought it up, you've barely said 'like' at all today, and the accent has been entirely absent."

"Well I... Maybe you- I guess I've been- ahm..." Veronica began to stammer nervously. Everything she had worked so hard to achieve was beginning to fall apart before her eyes!

Trixie at last frowned at her friend. "Is something wrong?"

She sounded concerned... Wait. Full stop.

Trixie Tang, self-proclaimed princess and most popular girl at their high school, sounded... _concerned_?

Veronica shivered as she felt what she assumed to be Hell freezing over.

"You still in there? Or did you drift off again?"

"Hm? Ah! I'm- I'm still here!"

"Okay... So what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong! I'm like, great!" Veronica smiled at her friend, hoping it was fake enough to be convincing.

It wasn't.

"Look, I get that I'm not... I'm not exactly a great person-"

"_Humility now? What the fuck is going on today?!" _"You're alright..."

"But I could be better."

"I-"

"And don't try to say that's not true. I'm old enough to know that I've been cruel to people. At times, I've been absolutely awful, I know that. But today at lunch... Something clicked..."

"Clicked?"

"That's... the best way I can put it. I saw the way you looked at... Timmy."

"_Okay, strike three, this is a dream. No way, NO WAY did Trixie just get Timmy's name right..." _"Would you excuse me for a sec?"

"Um... sure...?" Trixie raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Thanks." Veronica pinched herself. "Hm..." she then slapped herself across the face, hard. "Okay, not dreaming. Continue."

"...Alright... You sure you're feeling okay?"

"Peachy!"

"Anyway... You're not... You don't plan on taking advantage of Timmy's affections, do you?"

"_Crap."_ "Looks like... you found me out... Heheh..." Veronica rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"So you _do_ like him?! I knew it!" Trixie grabbed Veronica's hands and jumped up and down excitedly in front of her. "That's so sweet!"

"So... you're not mad at me?"

"Mad? I'm happy for you! He's never really been my type, but I had a feeling that you might have a bit of a crush on him. I just didn't want to tell him and... y'know, steal your thunder. I just can't believe he took so long, you gotta admit, the guy's a bit dense..."

"So... all this time... You knew?"

"Not for sure, but I had an inkling..."

This was turning out to be a _very _strange day indeed...

_Meanwhile..._

"Tootie, we're gonna be late!" Timmy stood in the doorway of his best friend's chemistry class. She had kept him waiting in their agreed upon meeting place for five minutes before he decided to track the bespectacled girl down. Luckily for him, she was fairly predictable.

"I'm just getting the notes that I missed! Jeez..." Tootie returned her attention to her notebook.

"Well hurry up!"

"_So impatient..." _"You honestly think that Blondie won't wait for you?"

"I- Hm..." she made a fair point. They had agreed to meet by the front of the school, and Trixie and Veronica more than likely _would_ wait for them...

"Done."

"Finally! Come on!" Timmy grabbed her by the hand and sprinted out of the room with Tootie in tow. The only reason she wasn't being dragged through the hallway was because her shoes had wheels built into the heels.

"_Knew I bought these for a reason..."_ she still wasn't entirely comfortable with their plans. Without Chester and AJ as backup, it would only be her and Timmy against four popular kids... The prospect would've made her nervous if she didn't have her phone, and by extension, an ace up her sleeve if things went south. With the wheels in her shoes doing most of the work keeping up with her friend, she thought more about the blonde girl that had somehow won her friend's heart.

She could admit that Veronica was attractive, and her personality wasn't _nearly_ as overbearing as she thought it would be, though this opinion was formed after only a few minutes of observing the girl's interactions with Timmy. That might all be an act to lull the both of them into a false sense of security.

Was she possessive of Timmy? ...Yes. She could admit that she was(if only to herself), but it would be weirder for her not to be, considering their history. She wasn't about to let him get hurt, not if she could prevent it anyway. She knew how Timmy felt about her, and she knew how she felt about him. They weren't meant for each other. It was a hard pill to swallow, but she got over it, and they were the best of friends now...

"Oof!" she was shaken from her thoughts as she crashed into Timmy's back. "Why'd you-"

"Shh! Look." Timmy whispered as he looked out the window of the school's front door.

"Why are we whispering? These doors are bulletproof. Couldn't hear an explosion on the other side..."

"Just look!" Timmy grabbed her arm and yanked her over next to him.

She looked out to see Trixie and Veronica having what seemed to be a rather intense conversation and glanced over at Timmy. "Whaddya think they're talking about?"

"Feminine Secrets! Ah!" Timmy rubbed his side where Tootie elbowed him after that comment.

"Perv."

"Better than anything you've come up with..."

"Well... They _could_ be talking about how they're going to get us in that limo and then brutally murder us..."

"A realistic idea would be appreciated." Timmy deadpanned.

"Oh, you wanted realistic? Say so next time. Hm... Trixie's finally coming out to her best friend?"

"Great. I _really_ needed those images in my head..."

"You said realistic!"

"Forget it. Shall we go?"

"We shall." Tootie stood up to open the door, only to be yanked back down next to Timmy. "What?" she nearly snapped at him.

"You're gonna behave yourself, right?"

"I told you I would do my best! That's all you're getting!"

"...Fine..." Timmy stood up, pulling her up with him, then opened the door. "After you, milady."

"Thank you, Sir Twerp."

"Don't _you_ start with that."

"Sorry, couldn't resist!" Tootie giggled and went out first, followed closely by the brunet as he rolled his eyes. He could already tell that today was going to be... _interesting_...

Veronica looked up at Timmy and Tootie, but kept her expression relatively neutral. The day's events had... certainly intrigued her; things were going remarkably well in fact. Now, if she could just win over the black-haired girl, everything else would _hopefully_ fall into place. "You both made it!" she smiled and waved at them.

Veronica watched as Tootie looked her and Trixie over. "Just you two?" the girl's tone had softened slightly, it no longer sounded quite as wary and accusing.

"_At least she's trying..."_ "Yeah, I guess Tad and Chad had dentist appointments?" she looked over at Trixie for confirmation.

"Yup, those two might as well be joined at the hip. So I'm guessing the rest of your friends couldn't make it?" Trixie asked Timmy.

"Ah yeah, they had their own stuff to do."

"Oh well, some other time then." Trixie opened the door of the limo and climbed in, followed by Veronica, and then their two guests. "Max?" Trixie called to the limo driver. "To the mall please."

"Of course Miss Tang."

"Thank you Max." Trixie returned her attention to the other occupants of the vehicle. "Thirsty?" she lifted up one of the seats to reveal a cooler.

Timmy watched Veronica take a can of soda and return to her seat across from him and next to Trixie. Likely because Tootie had insisted on sitting rather closely to him. "I'll have one." Trixie tossed him a can of orange soda. "Tootie?" a quick look at the girl showed that the once confident aura she had been emitting was now gone. They were both in pretty unfamiliar territory now.

"I'll... have a grape..."

Trixie took out the requested drink and tossed it to Tootie.

Timmy watched as Tootie caught it and stiffly opened it. She seemed to consider if it was wise to drink the soda.

"_It's not poisoned..."_ he took a sip from his own drink, a lame attempt to set her at ease, but it seemed to work as she relaxed slightly and took a sip of her drink. _"Should've wished for a psychic link with her, it'd make this _a lot_ easier..."_

"You sure you two aren't related? You both drank at almost the exact same time there."

"Coincidence." Tootie kept her eyes trained on her can of soda.

Great. One word answers from Tootie meant that she either was mad at or straight up didn't like who she was talking to. Timmy realized his mistake now, he hadn't told Tootie to be nice to anyone but Veronica... "Yeah, I guess we've always been pretty close like that." Timmy nudged Tootie with his elbow and looked at her.

Said nudge made her look at him, and she rolled her eyes at him, then closed them and quickly nodded.

"_Good."_ Timmy mentally sighed in relief. He had a pretty good idea what most of her tells were, and that one generally meant that she'd go along with what he was suggesting.

"So what's been going on? Y'know, besides winning my best friend's heart?" Trixie again looped her arm around Veronica's shoulders, though it was the question that elicited the blush now forming on the blonde's cheeks.

"Trixie... Can you shut up, please?"

"I'm just making conversation..." Trixie looked down sadly, though it was more for effect than anything else.

"Not much. Did AJ ever talk to you?"

"Uh... He did but..." Trixie released Veronica and twiddled her thumbs nervously.

"He's a robot." Timmy stated what was essentially common knowledge for everyone in his circle of friends.

"Kind... of...?"

"It's fine. We all know he's romantically challenged, right Tootie?"

Tootie nodded in confirmation. This was the closest she had been to the two popular girls, and she was going to observe them before committing to anything. So far though, she was impressed. Veronica wasn't nearly as conniving as she thought she was, and Trixie was pretty amicable outside of school and away from judgmental eyes... Maybe she _was_ being paranoid... Just a little.

"Oh, okay. I was thinking that but... Y'know, I didn't want to seem like I was putting down your friend."

Okay, Tootie had to admit that she was surprised now. A part of her was definitely still wary about Trixie and Veronica's motives, but Trixie didn't _seem_ to be as haughty and rude as Tootie had pegged her. "So what are we gonna do at the mall?" the question surprised Tootie almost as much as the rest of the limo's occupants.

"Well... Normally Veronica and I go shopping. A lot of the stores have a preferred customer discount, so I try to take advantage when I can... But, since these two lovebirds haven't gone out on a date yet..."

Veronica blushed and turned her attention to her own can of soda now, anything to look at the other occupants of the car... "We-we only just started going out!"

"So? Neither of you have actually _gone out_, so why not do some couple stuff, huh? See a movie, get some food at the food court, have Timmy carry a bunch of your shopping bags..." Trixie took on a teasing tone with the last suggestion.

"It's up to Veronica." Timmy shrugged. "I'm up for whatever she wants to do."

"Oh boy, Veronica's got you whipped already!" "She's got you whipped already?!" Tootie and Trixie teased at the same time, then paused as they realized it, before laughing at each other.

"Oh, I _like_ you!" Tootie spoke through giggles to Trixie.

"Switch?" Trixie asked.

"Indeed." Tootie patted Timmy on the back, indicating she wanted him to switch places with Trixie as she stood up. "Go on and sit with your girlfriend!"

Timmy did as he was told and sat down in Trixie's spot as she sat down where he was once sitting.

"Name's Tootie. Timmy's best friend, and self-appointed torturer!" Tootie attempted to more formally introduce herself.

"Well it's a pleasure to finally meet you! Trixie Tang, Veronica's best friend and twin, in spirit!" Trixie mocked what she knew many kids said about her and her friend. The two girls shared another bout of giggling and shook hands.

Timmy brushed his fingers against Veronica's to try and get her attention, and began speaking when she looked over at him. "Think if we jumped out of the car at this speed it would kill us?"

"I can only hope..." Veronica took another look at the two raven-haired girls, who had apparently become the best of friends inside of about ten minutes. _"'Interesting' does not even begin to describe how this day is going..."_


End file.
